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Chasing a Booner...

bowhunter1023

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
49,512
288
Appalachia
I just stumbled on the change of pace I have been looking for this season!!! :pickle:

I have an "uncle-in-law" who owns a decent chunk of ground in Athens County. I've seen better ground in terms of huntability in my day, but it is loaded with cover and according to him, the deer are stacking in to his property right now. He somehow managed to miss what I am guessing is a 170+ monster last night. He's not a dedicated hunter and is just getting back in to it, but seems to be enjoying it. This morning, he shot a pretty decent buck and made mention of me coming down this weekend. We've been talking oil and gas over the past few months and he signed a great lease deal yesterday, so he's in a good mood!!! :smiley_clap:

I've been studying the maps and I picked out a couple spots for this weekend. I have no idea what to expect other than I know there's been a huge buck seen there in the recent days, along with a ton of other deer. With the amount of cover he has and the edges it creates, along with cooperative topography, it could make for an interesting weekend!!! :smiley_coolpeace:
 
DJK Frank 16

DJK Frank 16

Senior Member
Supporting Member
9,356
133
Hardin County
Sounds like a great opportunity to hunt a change of scenery with good probability of seeing deer! Best of luck this weekend, keep us posted!
 
Milo

Milo

Tatonka guide.
8,189
171
Jesse PM me the deal he got..got a buddie looking at one over there..
 
bowhunter1023

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
49,512
288
Appalachia
Working on getting a trail cam pic of this deer. I guess the neighbor has pics of it earlier this fall. I spent a couple hours staring at the map yesterday and came up with two spots I might want to set a blind for late season. I need more on the ground info, but I'm liking what I am seeing so far. Especially is muzzleloader is cold and snowy...
 
bowhunter1023

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
49,512
288
Appalachia
Saw 5 does and 2 shooters down there today. I started the morning in the first area I picked on the maps and HOLY SHIT is it an amazing spot. I found a rub line with one rub on a yellow popular the size of the small part of my thigh. Along the edge of the pines, I found a scrape that was still clean in a 3' circle under and licking branch 6+ feet off the ground. It all runs down the edge of edge on the spine of a ridge with thick pines and saplings on one side, and mature timber on the other. Just west of the tree I picked out for next season, is a standing corn field that will probably be beans next year, forcing them in the pines. The farm to the north is 300 acres that is off limits to hunting. I watched 5 does and a shooter 10 (maybe 150 if I had to guess) cut the head of a draw and enter the corn field this morning at 200 yards or so. I hadn't been on stand more than 30 minutes!!!

We mostly drove the pines after 9 this morning. On the last drive, I beat brush so I could scout the second spot I had picked out. In all my life, I have never seen deer trails like I saw today! There is a small pond surrounded by pines and there is a slough that runs 300 yards from the pond dam, through the pines, and down into a nasty thick creek bottom. Beans to the south and the road to the north. I was admiring a certain tree about 2/3 of the way down the slough when I heard a deer stand up. I threw up the muzzleloader and found a 135ish 8-point in the scope. Solid deer, but not worth forcing the shot considering he was headed towards Tracie. He ended up bailed in to the bean field about 50 yards shy of her main shooting lane, but she did get to watch him cross the field.

All in all, it was an awesome half day of hunting. I have no doubts the two spots I picked out will provide me opportunities in the future. Her uncle lets a couple of other guys hunt, but the pressure is still pretty minimal. I'm 100% certain I'd be the only person wanting to hunt the slough because it's one of those spots you'd look over 99% of the time until you walked in there. He said no one ever hunts there and with a little work, access would be perfect. He and I talked a little before I left and he said I was welcome back any time to shed, turkey, goose (it has a small lake), or deer hunt. It's not a spot I'll hunt a lot, but one where I'll hang two killer sets (one S wind and one N wind) then hunt them when things are right. Pretty pumped about what might come out there!!!
 
Fluteman

Fluteman

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,096
160
Southeast Ohio
Jesse, is that the farm we went up to check out the fishing a few years ago? If so, that did look like some promising acreage.
 
bowhunter1023

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
49,512
288
Appalachia
Fluteman said:
Jesse, is that the farm we went up to check out the fishing a few years ago? If so, that did look like some promising acreage.
Click to expand...

Yes. It opens up nicely back behind the pines on the side of the road we fished on. Good cover, but more huntable ground. The other side is essentially a 60 acre thicket, which limits the hunting. But man does it funnel deer! Looked like cattle trails down there through the brush!!!
 
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